5 Mar (Reuters) – U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent 🏽attack on an Iranian girls’ school that killed dozens of children on Saturday, but have not yet reached a final conclusion or finalized 🏽 their investigation, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
Reuters was unable to determine further details about the investigation, including what evidence contributed to the interim assessment, what type of ammunition was used, who was responsible or why the US may have attacked the school.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged on Wednesday that the US Military was investigating the incident.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, did not rule out the possibility of new evidence emerging that absolves the United States of responsibility and points to another party responsible for the incident.
Reuters was unable to determine how much longer the investigation will last or what evidence U.S. investigators are seeking before the assessment can be completed.
The girls’ school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit on Saturday, during the first day of US and Israeli attacks on the country. Iran’s UN ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said the attack killed 150 students. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the death toll.
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According to archived copies of the school’s official website, the school is next to a complex operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military force that reports to Iran’s supreme leader.
The Pentagon referred Reuters’ questions to the US military’s Central Command, whose spokesman, Captain Timothy Hawkins, said: ‘It would be inappropriate to comment as the incident is being investigated.’
The White House has not commented directly on the investigation, but press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a note to Reuters: ‘Although the Department of War is currently investigating this matter, the Iranian regime is targeting civilians and children, not the United States of America.’
Asked about the incident during a press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth said: ‘We are looking into it. We, of course, never attack civilian targets. But we are taking a look and investigating it.’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday that the US would not deliberately target a school.
“The War Department would be investigating this if it was an attack by us, and I would refer your question to them,” Rubio said.
